MSNBC host Joy Reid could be hit with a lawsuit after she suggested that a former NFL star committed “child abuse” from his after-school club in order to participate in the signing of an Anti-Critical Race Theory (CRT) bill in Florida .
Jack Brewer has called on Reid to apologize for a comment she made on Twitter last week in which she claimed his club’s “abuse of black boys is tantamount to child abuse” or he will sue her for defamation.
“She completely humiliated my kids and my program,” the former football player told the Washington Examiner on Monday. “It’s just so hurtful and she needs to be held accountable. She does it so often. And you know, her words and the way she comes across to black America leaves a mark on all of us. … I will not take it when it comes to my children.’
Brewer told the newspaper he plans to send Reid a letter asking for an apology and if she doesn’t apologize within 24 hours he will take legal action.
His legal team is still finalizing the details of the lawsuit, including details of damages.
MSNBC host Joy Reid said allowing children to attend an after-school club to participate in the signing of an anti-critical race theory law in Florida was “tantamount to child abuse.” The children are pictured at the signing of Gov. DeSantis’ Stop WOKE Bill on Friday, April 22nd
Former NFL star Jack Brewer (left) is urging Joy Reid (left) to apologize for her comments or he will file a defamation lawsuit against her
Children at the Jack Brewer Foundation After School Club were photographed holding up signs against CRT last Friday as Gov. Ron DeSantis enacted Florida’s Stop WOKE Act.
The legislation prohibits schools and private companies from accusing students or employees of “guilt” or “any form of mental distress” on the basis of their national origin, gender or race.
Reid retweeted the photo and criticized Brewer’s American Heroes program for allowing the children to attend the event.
“This abuse of black boys is tantamount to child abuse. I’d really like to hear the backstory on who these kids were and how they ended up at a DeSantis event. Given how anti-black DeSantis is, it’s particularly sickening to use black children in this way,” she wrote.
Brewer, who publicly opposes CRT, said the American Heroes program’s mission is to promote Christian leadership among youth and to offer academic mentorship.
He also noted that resources were made available to parents with children who participate in his program that raised concerns about the CRT.
“I’m a staunch supporter of CRT — anything that teaches kids anti-Christian rhetoric and teaches kids to hate and see each other because of the color of their skin,” he said. “I have students in my program who have gone to school who have been told that because of the color of their skin they cannot achieve something [their] Skin.’
Reid retweeted the photo and criticized Brewer’s American Heroes program for allowing the children to attend the event
Similarly, family members of children who attended the event argue that Reid “showed hatred, resentment, and bitterness toward people she knows nothing about.”
“I mean, she paints these kids like they’re just little black boys who don’t know anything and could be exploited like they don’t even have a mind of their own,” Jane Halbritter, whose two nephews were in the photo, told the Washington Examiner . “And I don’t see her doing it with white kids.”
“She doesn’t know the love we have for these children and doesn’t assume that we would put them in a situation that they are unable to handle or understand in an age appropriate way,” she added added.
“It’s just so hugely offensive, but it’s also put them in danger because they’re this poster boy for it now and they’re kind of at the center of the storm. It’s terrible. It’s really a sad thing.’
Halbritter said her nephews, ages 9 and 14, were invited to sign Friday after attending another DeSantis bill signing earlier this month.
She claims that in both cases they were invited to the event because of their participation in the American Heroes Program.
DeSantis banned CRT as an ingredient in Florida schools, claiming it encourages hatred among students and blames individuals for past racism. He is pictured after signing the Stop WOKE Bill on Friday
DeSantis banned CRT as an ingredient in Florida schools, claiming it encourages hatred among students and blames individuals for past racism.
“We believe that an important component of freedom in the state of Florida is the freedom to have oppressive ideologies imposed on you without your consent,” DeSantis said at the signing of the bill, WFTS reported.
CRITICAL RACE THEORY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The battle for critical race theory in schools has escalated in the United States in the last year.
The theory has sparked heated debate nationwide following last year’s Black Lives Matter protests across the country and the launch of the 1619 Project.
The 1619 Project, published by The New York Times in 2019 to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first enslaved Africans on American shores, reframes American history by “exploring the aftermath of slavery and the contributions of black Americans to the Center of the USA puts narrative’.
The critical race theory debate concerns concerns that some children are being indoctrinated into thinking that white people are inherently racist or sexist.
Opponents of critical race theory have argued that it reduces people to the categories of “privileged” or “oppressed” based on their skin color.
But proponents say the theory is critical to eradicating racism because it examines how race affects American politics, culture and the law.
“Whether in class or at work. And we decided to do something about it.”
House Bill 7, also known as the Stop WOKE Bill, specifically bans teachings that claim certain individuals are “inherently racist.” [or] sexist]- or “morally superior” – or which characterize the status of individuals as “privileged” or “oppressed” because of their race, gender, or national origin.”
“What we will not allow is to teach that members of any race, color, national origin or sex are somehow morally superior,” the governor said Friday. “We will not allow a person to be inherently racist, sexist or oppressive simply because of their race, color, national origin or gender, that is wrong.”
Under the law, which goes into effect on July 1, teachers are allowed to raise issues such as sexism, racism, slavery and racial segregation, but are not allowed to convince students of a particular point of view.
“We’re not going to use your tax dollars to teach our kids to hate this country or hate each other,” DeSantis said.
Florida Senator Manny Diaz, Jr., who brought the bill through the Senate, said the bill was not intended to cover up America’s history with racism, but rather not to blame students for past wrongs.
“It’s not about the feeling. We can’t control how a person thinks about an issue,” Diaz told the Washington Post. “But what we can control is that a teacher doesn’t go up to a student … and impress on a male student that he’s sexist just because he’s considered male.”
In March, the state also passed the Parents’ Rights in Education Act, which bans the teaching of gender ideologies to children in elementary schools.
It becomes law on July 1, and teachers who break its rules can be sued by parents.
But critics say it teaches young children to believe they’re wrong because they’re different and forcing schools to report students who receive mental health services deprives those students of a safe space in which to see them can be themselves.
Even the White House spoke out on what has become the latest clash of culture wars, with press secretary Jen Psaki claiming last week it was “hateful” and “misinformed.”